002: Perfect Love

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.”

‭‭1 John‬ ‭4:18‬

We are supposed to fear God and God is love, yet perfect love casts out fear. How can this be?

The answer may lie in the second part of this verse where it says that fear has to do with punishment. If I am afraid because the consequences of my actions may, rightly or wrongly, lead to punishment then I am certainly not living in a loving relationship with whomever would do the punishing in this scenario. Punishment is about making somebody pay for what they have done. It's about pain, control, authority, and power lorded over someone else. It isn't about love, it isn’t about understanding, and it certainly isn't about grace or mercy.

When we read the Bible and see the lengths that God has gone to, to ensure the possibility of us rejoining his family and enjoying his kingdom forever we don't see a God who punishes, we see a God who forgives, who shows mercy, grace, and compassion. A God who is perfect love. So fear, in this sense of punishment, should not be something that we experience in our relationship with God.

But the Bible does say we are to fear God...so how do we make sense of this?

“The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” - Ecclesiastes‬ ‭12:13‬

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” - Proverbs‬ ‭9:10‬

We must consider what it means to fear and if there are other ways in which fear can exist apart from fearing punishment, and I believe that there are. One way to understand this healthy fear of God is to realistically consider who he is and in light of that, who we are.

He is all-powerful, all-present, and all-knowing. In comparison we possess an infinitesimal amount of power, we are limited by time, space, and matter to one location, and the knowledge we are working with is incredibly limited. In short, he is infinite and we are finite. He is the creator, we are the created. He is the ultimate authority over everything that has or will ever exist and that includes you, me, and billions of our closest friends.

Fearing God is the beginning of wisdom because it means that we have begun to understand the impossible gap that exists between us. We cannot cross it on our own. This was the point of the Law as I pointed out in yesterday’s post. This is why God sent Jesus to earth to live, die, and rise from the dead. So that he could build a way for us to cross that gap. Yet another incredible reason to live in awe of his power, grace, mercy, love, and splendor.

We don't fear God because he wants to punish us, we fear God because he's big enough to love and forgive us.

———

PS. A quick note on punishment vs. discipline.

While God does not punish us, he certainly disciplines us. The difference between the two is found in the motivation for taking action and the intended outcome of taking that action. Discipline is motivated by love and the desired outcome is to see the person being disciplined grow and mature because of the discipline. It is not motivated out of power or control or pain. It is meant to be a positive force for change. This doesn't make discipline fun but it is something that we need in order for God to mold us into wise and mature members of his Kingdom.